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Author
Topic: Republican Hissy Fits (Read 6476 times)

We'll start with the ever so predictable "Papa John's Appreciation Day". C'mon, America! Get out and show your support for the guy who will do whatever he can to avoid giving his employees healthcare! *Special bonus points for the added part about buying an extra pie for someone you know who might be suffering right now.*

Well this lefty, read that facebook page, and he's still clueless about this event. What exactly are we all supposed to appreciate about John H. Schnatter??? I mean what is the rationale given to the right wingers who would participate?

I totally agree Thunter. The only things I see listed are: He is going to cut employee hours. (Not clear why?) And that the left hates him and caricatures him.

Hmmmm.

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

I don't like Papa John's pizza. My employer will occasionally have Papa John's pizza delivered and when it is 3:00 am and I'm starving I'll eat it but I would never actually pay money for that crap.

I don't either. To be honest, I don't really care for any of the big chain pizza outfits. They're all very heavy and kinda...blah seeming. Anyway - what gets me is how an additional 14 cents per pie has now suddenly translated into cutting people's hours out altogether.

To be fair, I have also never read the newest Affordable Care rules that coming on line soon.

Is this it?

Company sponsored insurance for 30 hour plus employees. For all companies over 50 employees.

If not provided, then a fine of 2000 a year per employee.

So what will companies do:

1) Reduce hours to have less employees at 30 plus. A few chains say they have done this and are studying the effect on production, and customer satisfaction... (HAHAHAHA - and not on employee quality of life....??)

2) Just pay the fine. By many accounts, 2000 is MUCH cheaper than a years health insurance. Pay the fine, but maybe suffer the shame. But again, if 49% of people think Affordable care is a travesty financially and culturally, they will get PLENTY of support for NOT providing health care. And having to pay a fine to the socialist Dem government.

3) I think some studies say that cutting hours, reducing full time employees, and paying the fine, WOULD hurt the company's bottom line. So maybe some will just pay up?

___________

I could imagine that a lot of this forced company insurance for full-time employees, will be cut rate and filled with huge co-pays, etc....

______

Obama wins by a small margin. But this shift to universal care is going to take a major shift in public mindset, and compromise, and ironing out the kinks. Many many years, I imagine.

At least the US is finally trying to do it!

« Last Edit: November 13, 2012, 04:38:19 AM by mecch »

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

My wife and I order from Papa Johns quite often, the thin crust is the way to go. After hearing about this though, we won't be doing business with them any longer.

Another Republican hissy fit took place in Arizona over the weekend: a woman decided to run down her husband with the family car because he didn't vote. She felt another term of Obama would cause her family to endure many hardships. I guess this idea outweighed the hardships of possibly being a single parent.

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona woman, in despair at the re-election of Democratic President Barack Obama, ran down her husband with the family car in suburban Phoenix on Saturday because he failed to vote in the election, police said on Monday.

Holly Solomon, 28, was arrested after running over husband Daniel Solomon following a wild chase that left him pinned underneath the vehicle.

Daniel Solomon, 36, was in critical condition at a local hospital, but is expected to survive, Gilbert police spokesman Sergeant Jesse Sanger said.

Police said Daniel Solomon told them his wife became angry over his "lack of voter participation" in last Tuesday's presidential election and believed her family would face hardship as a result of Obama winning another term.

Witnesses reported the argument broke out on Saturday morning in a parking lot and escalated. Mrs Solomon then chased her husband around the lot with the car, yelling at him as he tried to hide behind a light pole, police said. He was struck after attempting to flee to a nearby street.

Obama won the national election with 332 electoral votes compared with 206 for Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Arizona's 11 electoral votes were won by Romney.

I'd like to see a post election interview with that old white lady who spewed hate. It was posted here right before the election. Where is that video, again? She looked primed to pop, like a vampire on True Blood, if Obama won.

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

I honestly can't ever remember this much finger pointing and wailing post election. The closest I can recall would be Bush / Gore, but there were genuine tally questions then - not to mention the shadiness of Katherine Harris and the fact that the popular vote really did go to Gore. Here, it's clear that all went to Obama. Legitimately. Even FOX called it, for pete's sake.

We now have loonies in 20 states calling to secede...my own state included.

The biggest joke of all is how it reveals just how far their true patriotism goes.

The biggest scare of all (for me) is the talk I hear of how they are planning to regroup. From what I can tell, they haven't really learned a damn thing from this election. It sounds like their plan is to dig further into religion to get more black and latino votes against the dreaded gays.

The biggest scare of all (for me) is the talk I hear of how they are planning to regroup. From what I can tell, they haven't really learned a damn thing from this election. It sounds like their plan is to dig further into religion to get more black and latino votes against the dreaded gays.

Good luck with that, numbskulls. I got the impression black leaders aren't having it anymore. Cory Booker is on this.

Hispanic women don't want anything to do with that fringe.

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

American politics swings like a pendulum with every election being the demise of the other party, only seeing the vanquished rise again. If we ever bury the Republican Party we better dig them up and kill them again.

Providing healthcare would cost Papa John about $5-8 million a year, per his own assessment. They have operating costs of over $1 Billion. This would be pocket change to them. They made about $45 million in profits for the first nine months of this year.

Papa said it would cost an extra 11-14 cents per pizza. The fine would cost less. He is doing this for political reasons. He spent $5 million for the naming rights of the University of Louisville football stadium. It has actually been more than that, because the 5 million was for the initial contract. And, they have another NFL promotion, where they give away two million pizzas.

I never liked his pizza. I worked at the corporate office here in Louisville several years ago. The benefits were awful, even for the corporate workers. The store folks had nothing. A driver gets the flu from delivering to so many homes, and he is on his own. Papa puts the burden on tax payers, when they show up in the ER. So, he can build another draw bridge on his Louisville estate.

Since many of these chains allow franchises to decide, perhaps some franchises will decide to bite the bullet and offer a plan, and even more so, an affordable plan that isn't complete bullshit. (I mean we wouldn't want people making very low salaries busting their budgets to pay for health insurance that turns out to be worthless.)

The franchise raise their prices to pay for the care. And make a PR campaign, with other franchises, perhaps, to inform the local market that is why they raised their prices.

I thought about this for a moment and just wonder - how many customers really ARE willing to pay a bit more to shop or to eat at a place that cares a bit for its employees?

I better go read some more about Obama Care errrrr Affordable Care Act.

What is the next step for people who won't be getting employer paid insurance? They get to buy it in insurance pools? And at what price? And what if they are too poor to afford the policies found on the state exchange?

(In Switzerland, everyone, EVERYONE must buy insurance, and it has nothing to do with employment or employers... The insurance companies are private. Poor people get help to pay the premium. Its about 300-400 USD a month for the basic plan and the basic plan is pretty damn comprehensive.. Salaries are higher here so most working people can afford the basic plan...)

« Last Edit: November 13, 2012, 06:13:32 PM by mecch »

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

This reminds me of last weeks scandals about non-tippers who eat out or order in. There was the lady who didn't tip the pizza delivery guy, cause she "just didnt have the money..." So the delivery man pissed her door. The blogosphere mostly agreed that if she "just didn't have the money" for a tip, she maybe could buy and eat a store pizza, or whatever. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-LsFyciAwU

Obviously, such customers don't give a crap about the social contract. Their needs, their pleasures, their conveniences first.

This is the heroic achievement of Obama because as much as people can preach the importance of the social contract, in the end, maybe you just have to legislate a better standard of living. Legislate the social safety net. Pull the opponents along kicking and screaming maybe but so be it.

« Last Edit: November 13, 2012, 06:20:30 PM by mecch »

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

Providing healthcare would cost Papa John about $5-8 million a year, per his own assessment. They have operating costs of over $1 Billion. This would be pocket change to them. They made about $45 million in profits for the first nine months of this year.

Papa said it would cost an extra 11-14 cents per pizza. The fine would cost less. He is doing this for political reasons.

Caleb Melby of Forbes has graciously done the math on Obamacare’s cost to Papa John’s and according to his analysis, to cover the cost of Obamacare, the pizza chain would have to raise prices by 3.4 to 4.6 cents per pie -- way less than the 11 to 14 cents Schnatter claims he needs.

And there are other changes the chain could make to save some money, Melby notes, like not giving away 2 million pizzas for free at a cost of between $24 and $32 million to the company, for example. ...

Obviously expecting Schnatter to be an empathetic human is an unrealistic expectation but one would think he would be savvy enough to realize that $.04 per pizza would result in healthier employees, reduced calls out, job retention and improved public perception at no cost to the company because this unnoticeable increase would be passed on to customers.

One difference between Starbucks and PJs...all Starbucks are corporate owned and most PJs are franchised owned. So the workers at Papa johns are not employed by the corp. I have always admired Starbucks for it benefits policy. I remember a few years ago when they had to raise their prices because health insurance costs went up...

And what if they are too poor to afford the policies found on the state exchange?

Medicaid Expansion.

Most states will be doing this, some are having to be dragged into it. (our SC state HIV Task Force is at the forefront of a movement across the Southern states to advocate for this expansion). Persons earning 133% FPL will become eligible for Medicaid without having to be "disabled" to receive these benefits. Also the ACA will be designating a certain level of "Essential Health Benefits". the state run Medicaid programs must match these EBH requirements (or do better)

what's good about this Medicaid Expansion is that not only will HIV positive people benefit (many on Ryan White will be able to now receive meds AND health care) but others with chronic illnesses or old age etc will also benefit. All these other people and agencies (dealing with heart issues, high blood pressure, diabetes, Hospital associations, AARP, mental health) will be able to lend their voices to pressure the states (mainly the Southern states from TX, TN to the Carolinas, to FL) into following the ACA and doing this expansion.

Won't everyone earning low wages really prefer Medicaid? There is no monthly insurance premium to pay, right? Why pay for insurance, maybe for a shoddy plan. What's the incentive to get low wage job employers to offer company plans if their employees can all be pushed onto medicaid? 2000 a year fine, big deal...

What a complicated shift has to take place. The idea of accommodating the American system of employee sponsored health insurance seems to make it all so complicated...

Well steps in the right direction!

We know wages are low in many industries, where there are never the less many jobs. And now these industries might be off the hook on health care, simply pay a small fine. If these companies are complaining about the tax burdern, is it just the 2000 per employee fine. Or, will the government somehow have to TAX business to fund the medicare? Will this be direct and spread out among all business? Or will it be passed onto individual state and federal income tax.

If we are wedded to the idea of employee sponsored care, then shouldn't the tax revenue for the increased medicare be sourced from business, not from individuals?

On another, perhaps related topic: I hope Obama does barnstorm the country to get support for his plan to increase taxes on the USD 250,000+++ crowd.

I read a few post election editorials about how the election was very much a class war, but maybe the topic must continued to be discussed.

« Last Edit: November 14, 2012, 09:07:48 AM by mecch »

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

As the current fed minimum wage is 7.25 hour, most people eligible for the Medicaid Expansion will be part time workers. In 2007, 18.3 million Americans worked part-time. Out of a population of approx. 308 million, around 5% of workers will possibly be eligible for this basic insurance/benefit. The ACA was supposed to extend coverage to those uninsured and this is one way in which it is completing that task.

The combined federal and state government's definition of "Essential Health Benefits" will basically ensure that the "shoddiest" (ie most basic plan) will probably be the Medicaid plan. For just a small amount more, most employees will have access to much better plans, with greater EHBs, and will probably not choose the medicaid expansion plan anyway if they are right on the cut-off line (133% FPL) and even have medicaid as an option.

there are actually several penalty amounts that could be charged if insurance is not obtained by an individual or provided by an employer. The employer penalties range from that base of $2k to upwards of $6k per employee. Also the object is not to tax businesses to provide insurance to all. The object is that once everyone purchases insurance (or receives through another payer ie the gov't paying for someone's medicaid), the health care costs are spread out across all citizens to provide all citizens with health care. Not to mention that other funding currently in use (Medicaid Disproportionate Share funding - charity payments to hospitals for uncompensated care they deliver, some Ryan White funds, etc) will be able to be shifted to pay the Medicaid Expansion costs.

I just returned from a 4-day AIDS United Southern REACH conference in Nashville (attended by AU grantees from TX to TN to the Carolinas, to FL) where the topic was ACA and Medicaid expansion. My state of SC is in the lead of these southern states advocating for Medicaid Expansion. While other southern states, whose governors and legislators are opposed to the expansion, are just beginning to contemplate these issues, we have already been working on these issues for several months (via our state wide task force group comprised of consumers, ASO directors, hospitals, all types of health care agencies, Dpt of health, dpt of ed, social and political groups [ie AARP, GLBTQ groups] AND state Legislators) and will be holding a press conference/rally, capacity building training session for allied partner groups and state Legislators, and a community forum on the issues of ACA and Medicaid Expansion next month on Dec 11th. Our goal is to educate the populace and the Legislature so that, just as our Governor's veto of health care items in this year's budget was overturned, the Legislators will overturn her refusal to implement medicaid expansion and the health care exchange that is to be set up in each state.

A Key West man who told his partner that "if Barack gets re-elected, I'm not going to be around" was found dead on Nov. 8, with the words "F--- Obama!" scrawled on his will and two empty prescription bottles nearby.

Police spokeswoman Alyson Crean said a cause of death is awaiting autopsy results from the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office but said, "There's absolutely no evidence of foul play."

According to Dykes' report, Cossey returned to the South Roosevelt Boulevard condo he shared with Hamilton after a late night of playing cards with friends and fell asleep on the couch around 6 a.m.

A friend of Hamilton had been worried about him and had a standing request to police to make welfare checks. Officer Pablo Rodriguez did just that and when he went to the condo, he woke up Cossey, prompting the discovery of Hamilton's body in the bedroom.

Dykes reported finding two empty prescription bottles, one for Xanax and one for Seroquel, used to treat anxiety and schizophrenia, respectively.

Cossey told police Hamilton "has been very stressed about his business," and the last time they had spoken was "when we watched the election results" on Nov. 6.

I agree with this guy, especially regarding the left wing completely caving to Obamacare and financing an insurance industry whose method of increasing profits is denying people healthcare. So many people are upset with Obama calling him too socialistic where I feel he has compromised effectively addressing the healthcare problem by abandoning a single-payer model.

A Key West man who told his partner that "if Barack gets re-elected, I'm not going to be around" was found dead on Nov. 8, with the words "F--- Obama!" scrawled on his will and two empty prescription bottles nearby.

Police spokeswoman Alyson Crean said a cause of death is awaiting autopsy results from the Monroe County Medical Examiner's Office but said, "There's absolutely no evidence of foul play."

According to Dykes' report, Cossey returned to the South Roosevelt Boulevard condo he shared with Hamilton after a late night of playing cards with friends and fell asleep on the couch around 6 a.m.

A friend of Hamilton had been worried about him and had a standing request to police to make welfare checks. Officer Pablo Rodriguez did just that and when he went to the condo, he woke up Cossey, prompting the discovery of Hamilton's body in the bedroom.

Dykes reported finding two empty prescription bottles, one for Xanax and one for Seroquel, used to treat anxiety and schizophrenia, respectively.

Cossey told police Hamilton "has been very stressed about his business," and the last time they had spoken was "when we watched the election results" on Nov. 6.

I would be depressed too if I invested all my money into a tanning salon in sunny Key West , maybe he should have opened a side business selling sand .

So many people are upset with Obama calling him too socialistic where I feel he has compromised effectively addressing the healthcare problem by abandoning a single-payer model.

not "so many people"; but "crazy Republicans with no sense of reality or the concept of socialism, etc.*". Progressives and liberals have never called Obama "too socialistic" LOL

*I added "etc" because a lot of Republicans, both grassroots and elected, have called Obama a lot of things and made a lot of generalizations about his style of governance, all which were entirely untrue and disconnected from reality.

I agree with this guy, especially regarding the left wing completely caving to Obamacare and financing an insurance industry whose method of increasing profits is denying people healthcare. So many people are upset with Obama calling him too socialistic where I feel he has compromised effectively addressing the healthcare problem by abandoning a single-payer model.

Wasn't the strategy to at least get something rolling? A lot of us weren't happy with the back room insurance deals and the sketchy belief that this patchwork under Obama Care is going to be sustainable.

Sure many lefties would prefer a nationalised health care system. But we've been through several Presidential election cycles in which dems have had to avoid anything europeeeny, frenchy, socialisty, entitlementy.

« Last Edit: November 15, 2012, 01:26:19 PM by mecch »

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“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

A Key West man who told his partner that "if Barack gets re-elected, I'm not going to be around" was found dead on Nov. 8, with the words "F--- Obama!" scrawled on his will and two empty prescription bottles nearby.

...

Cossey told police Hamilton "has been very stressed about his business," and the last time they had spoken was "when we watched the election results" on Nov. 6.

Seroconverted: Early 80sTested & confirmed what I already knew: early 90s

Current regimen: Atripla. Last regimen: Epzicom, Sustiva (since its inception with NO adverse side effects: no vivid dreams and NONE of the problems people who can't tolerate this drug may experience: color me lucky )Past regimensFun stuff (in the past): HAV/HBV, crypto, shingles, AIDS, PCP

Me: "So you've voted against yourself and your interests for years then."

Repub: "no..."

Me: "so your family's income is seven-figure? You can afford your healthcare, you don't mind you can't speak to a doctor at the local VA hospital and you won't miss the social security payments you've made your whole career?"

Seroconverted: Early 80sTested & confirmed what I already knew: early 90s

Current regimen: Atripla. Last regimen: Epzicom, Sustiva (since its inception with NO adverse side effects: no vivid dreams and NONE of the problems people who can't tolerate this drug may experience: color me lucky )Past regimensFun stuff (in the past): HAV/HBV, crypto, shingles, AIDS, PCP

What about the fact that Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson might be faking their reconciliation? If they're through nothing else matters.

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"I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else."